When Love Takes You In
by justanoutlaw
Summary: Regina and Robin want to expand their family, but it's not easy due to her infertility potion.


"She's giving you something that I never can."

Robin had to admit, that he hadn't thought much about Regina's admission after she told him. It wasn't purposeful, but they were going through a lot at the time. Between Zelena and the unexpected pregnancy, the Queens of Darkness and Isaac running around, followed by Emma turning dark and speeding up said pregnancy, they were just so busy. Even when the dust settled and Emma had the darkness out of her, Zelena was getting some help and the town was no longer in imminent danger, there was still their family to take care of. They had newborn Bryony, 5-year-old Roland adjusting to the current realm's schooling system and of course, teenage Henry had his first ever girlfriend. Having more kids wasn't even a thought for either of them, until a year after the final battle had been fought.

All of the kids were getting bigger and Robin had always pictured himself with a big family. Soon Henry would be off to college (or so they all assumed) and the younger kids were gaining their own independence by the day. There was still a part of him that felt that something was missing. So, he brought it up with Regina. He hadn't completely forgotten about what she had told him, but he hadn't really considered how limited their options would be.

Regina wanted another child too, but she pointed out the difficulty. They looked into surrogacy at first, but after the first appointment, it was clear that neither of them were on board with that. Regina didn't normally get jealous of pregnant women, but it was going to be different watching someone else carry Robin's child. He felt the same way, especially if it was a stranger.

Next, they turned to adoption, a road Regina had been down before. Robin was a bit hesitant, given Regina's issues when it came to Henry's birth mother, but Regina explained that it was a much different case. She also explained the differences between open and closed adoption, which made him realize that he wanted to go with the former.

"Are you sure?" Regina asked, as they filled out the paperwork the agency had sent over. "I don't mind, but it means that at least one of the birth parents is always going to be involved in some capacity."

"I just think it'll be better for our child in the long run to know where they came from. I know you didn't choose Henry's adoption plan, but maybe if he had answers, things would've turned out a bit differently."

Regina couldn't help but agree. She wanted to do things differently this time around. With Henry, she hadn't told him that he was adopted. It wasn't to purposefully keep it from him, but she wasn't sure exactly how to explain it herself. She planned on doing it one day, but that all blew up in her face when he found out on his own. In the end, she knew they had more issues back then that one secret, but if she could avoid it with her future child, she was going to do it. Besides, she didn't want this child to be the only one who didn't know their history. Henry had Emma and the rest of the Charmings for questions, Robin could obviously help with his side and he knew everything about Marian when it came to Roland. While Regina and him had more custody of Bryony than Zelena did, she'd also grow up knowing both sides of her history. This baby deserved the same.

Robin didn't realize just how long the process would take, and to be fair, neither did Regina. Gold had managed to find Henry pretty quickly and it had been luck that his initial perspective adoptive parents couldn't care for him anymore. The two of them went to plenty of visits with pregnant young women. However, ultimately, they would either not get a call or they would; but ultimately the mother would change her mind, keeping the baby. It was a frustrating and sad process, especially with the kids getting their hopes up with each call. Regina and Robin tried to shield them until they were pretty sure, but it was difficult to keep a secret for long in that house.

Then one night, they got a call in the middle of the night. It was one of the social workers in Storybrooke, who knew that they were looking to adopt. He told them of a young woman that had just given birth to twins. Somehow, she hadn't known about the second baby and when the parents she had selected had caught wind, it was just too much for them. She was young, panicked and unsure of what to do. There was no way she could take care of the children, but normally in this situation, it'd be hard to find people willing to go with an open adoption. She didn't want much, just the occasional picture and yearly visit. Regina and Robin didn't hesitate, before practically flying down to the hospital.

When they arrived, the social worker lead them to the nursery. She explained that the mother had fallen asleep and that they could talk with her later.

"In the meantime," he said. "Just meet your babies."

There the two of them were, wiggling and fussing a bit. One was wrapped in a bubblegum pink blanket, while the other was bundled up in a baby blue one. Regina reached down to pick up the girl, while Robin lifted up the boy. As they cuddled them closer and softly tried to hush them, they could feel something that only a parent could describe. Regina had felt it the first moments she had held Henry and Bryony, along with when Roland had called her "Mom" for the first time. Robin had felt the same when holding each of his children before and this was no exception.

They stood there in silence for a bit, staring down at the little bundles of perfection in their arms. Eventually, Regina looked over at Robin and softly smiled.

"You know, I was worried about how we would explain our town and who we were to a birth mother outside of this town. Now, we don't have to."

Robin nodded, pressing a kiss to his son's head. "It was fate."

"It was. You wanna hold your daughter so I can hold my son?"

Robin grinned and exchanged a kiss with her, before they swapped babies. The two settled down into the rocking chairs, cuddling their new son and daughter close. There were no other babies, most new parents chose not to utilize the nursery, but it had been kept in for moments like these. It meant that Robin and Regina had the whole place to themselves.

"We don't have any names," Robin mused, as he made sure his hand supported his daughter's head. "We never got this far before."

"I admit I had one for a boy in the back of my head all this time. I always figured I'd use it if I was ever able to make Henry a big brother."

"What is it?"

"Sawyer."

Robin grinned. "I like it. Henry, Roland, Bryony and Sawyer. It works."

Regina beamed, giving her son a kiss. "Sawyer it is. Now we just need one for our little girl."

"Preferably not anything matching."

"Of course. Since they're twins, people are already going to be comparing them for their whole life."

Robin was quiet for a minute, as he studied her face. "I once knew a brave female knight, named Adair. She was kind and would occasionally help me with my missions."

"Adair," Regina repeated. "Hm. Not what I would've picked…but I think it works."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sawyer John…"

"Oh, Little John is going love that."

Regina grinned. "And Adair Rose."

"Sawyer John and Adair Rose Hood-Mills." Robin reached over and squeezed her hand. "Perfect."

"The kids are going to be so excited."

"We only have one of everything, you know. Mostly boy stuff, considering our last close call was for one."

"I'm sure everyone will be willing to help us out. Snow offered me so much stuff when we started this process, plus we still have a lot leftover from when Bryony was a baby. We'll find our way."

She nuzzled her nose against her son's.

"We always do."


End file.
